Processing mapped 5g system (5gs) quality of service (qos) information in evolved packet system (eps)

ABSTRACT

Aspects of the present disclosure provide apparatus, methods, processing systems, and computer readable mediums for updating QoS configurations at a user equipment (UE). An example method generally includes receiving, from a network entity, quality of service (QoS) information, a QoS identifier associated with the QoS information, and a bearer context associated with the QoS information in one of a modify bearer context request message, an activate default bearer context request message, or an activate dedicated bearer context request message; and updating a QoS configuration using the QoS information based on whether the UE is already configured with QoS information associated with the QoS identifier for a bearer context different from the bearer context associated with the QoS information received in the modify bearer context request message, activate default bearer context request message, or activate dedicated bearer context request message.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/199,816, entitled “Processed Mapped 5G System Quality of Service(QoS) Information in Evolved Packet System (EPS)”, filed Mar. 12, 2021,which claims priority to and benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 63/007,262, entitled “Processed Mapped 5G System Qualityof Service (QoS) Information in Evolved Packet System (EPS)”, filed Apr.8, 2020, both of which are assigned to the assignee hereof, the contentsof both which are incorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to wireless communications, andmore particularly, to techniques for updating quality of service (QoS)parameters in an environment where devices using a first radio accesstechnology and devices using a second radio access technology coexist.

BACKGROUND

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide varioustelecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging,broadcasts, etc. These wireless communication systems may employmultiple-access technologies capable of supporting communication withmultiple users by sharing available system resources (for example,bandwidth, transmit power, etc.). Examples of such multiple-accesssystems include 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long TermEvolution (LTE) systems, LTE Advanced (LTE-A) systems, code divisionmultiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA)systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonalfrequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single-carrierfrequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, and time divisionsynchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems, to name afew.

These multiple access technologies have been adopted in varioustelecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enablesdifferent wireless devices to communicate on a municipal, national,regional, and even global level. New radio (for example, 5G NR) is anexample of an emerging telecommunication standard. NR is a set ofenhancements to the LTE mobile standard promulgated by 3GPP. NR isdesigned to better support mobile broadband Internet access by improvingspectral efficiency, lowering costs, improving services, making use ofnew spectrum, and better integrating with other open standards usingOFDMA with a cyclic prefix (CP) on the downlink (DL) and on the uplink(UL). To these ends, NR supports beamforming, multiple-inputmultiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, and carrier aggregation.

However, as the demand for mobile broadband access continues toincrease, there exists a need for further improvements in NR and LTEtechnology. Preferably, these improvements should be applicable to othermulti-access technologies and the telecommunication standards thatemploy these technologies.

A control resource set (CORESET) for systems, such as an NR and LTEsystems, may comprise one or more control resource (e.g., time andfrequency resources) sets, configured for conveying PDCCH, within thesystem bandwidth. Within each CORESET, one or more search spaces (e.g.,common search space (CSS), UE-specific search space (USS), etc.) may bedefined for a given UE.

SUMMARY

The systems, methods, and devices of the disclosure each have severalinnovative aspects, no single one of which is solely responsible for thedesirable attributes.

One innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosurecan be implemented in a method for wireless communication by a userequipment (UE). The method generally includes receiving, from a networkentity, quality of service (QoS) information, a QoS identifierassociated with the QoS information, and a bearer context associatedwith the QoS information in one of a modify bearer context requestmessage, an activate default bearer context request message, or anactivate dedicated bearer context request message; and updating a QoSconfiguration using the QoS information based on whether the UE isalready configured with QoS information associated with the QoSidentifier for a different bearer context than the bearer contextassociated with the QoS information.

Aspects of the present disclosure provide means for, apparatus,processors, and computer-readable mediums for performing the methodsdescribed herein.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the one or moreaspects comprise the features hereinafter fully described andparticularly pointed out in the claims. The following description andthe appended drawings set forth in detail some illustrative features ofthe one or more aspects. These features are indicative, however, of buta few of the various ways in which the principles of various aspects maybe employed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Details of one or more implementations of the subject matter describedin this disclosure are set forth in the accompanying drawings and thedescription below. However, the accompanying drawings illustrate onlysome typical aspects of this disclosure and are therefore not to beconsidered limiting of its scope. Other features, aspects, andadvantages will become apparent from the description, the drawings andthe claims.

FIG. 1 shows an example wireless communication network in which someaspects of the present disclosure may be performed.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram illustrating an example base station (BS)and an example user equipment (UE) in accordance with some aspects ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a frame format for a telecommunicationsystem, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates interworking between a network operating using afirst radio access technology and a network operating using a secondradio access technology.

FIG. 5 illustrates example scenarios in which mappings between qualityof service (QoS) information for a network using a first radio accesstechnology and QoS information for a network using a second radio accesstechnology are used in activating QoS rules to a bearer context.

FIG. 6 illustrates example operations for wireless communication by auser equipment (UE), in accordance with some aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates a communications device that may include variouscomponents configured to perform operations for the techniques disclosedherein in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have beenused, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common tothe figures. It is contemplated that elements disclosed in one aspectmay be beneficially utilized on other aspects without specificrecitation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the present disclosure provide apparatus, methods, processingsystems, and computer readable mediums for updating quality of service(QoS) information in an environment where devices using a first radioaccess technology and devices using a second radio access technologycoexist.

The following description provides examples of updating QoS informationin an environment where devices using a first radio access technologyand devices using a second radio access technology coexist, and is notlimiting of the scope, applicability, or examples set forth in theclaims. Changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elementsdiscussed without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Variousexamples may omit, substitute, or add various procedures or componentsas appropriate. For instance, the methods described may be performed inan order different from that described, and various steps may be added,omitted, or combined. Also, features described with respect to someexamples may be combined in some other examples. For example, anapparatus may be implemented or a method may be practiced using anynumber of the aspects set forth herein. In addition, the scope of thedisclosure is intended to cover such an apparatus or method which ispracticed using other structure, functionality, or structure andfunctionality in addition to, or other than, the various aspects of thedisclosure set forth herein. It should be understood that any aspect ofthe disclosure disclosed herein may be embodied by one or more elementsof a claim.

In general, any number of wireless networks may be deployed in a givengeographic area. Each wireless network may support a particular radioaccess technology (RAT) and may operate on one or more frequencies. ARAT may also be referred to as a radio technology, an air interface,etc. A frequency may also be referred to as a carrier, a subcarrier, afrequency channel, a tone, a subband, etc. Each frequency may support asingle RAT in a given geographic area in order to avoid interferencebetween wireless networks of different RATs. In some cases, a 5G NR RATnetwork may be deployed.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless communication network 100 inwhich aspects of the present disclosure may be performed. For example,as shown in FIG. 1 , UE 120 a may include a quality of service (QoS)parameter updating module 122 that may be configured to perform (orcause UE 120 a to perform) operations 400 of FIG. 4 . Similarly, a basestation 110 a may include a QoS parameter configuration module 112 thatmay be configured to perform (or cause the base station 110 a toperform) operations to transmit QoS configuration information to the UE.

NR access (for example, 5G NR) may support various wirelesscommunication services, such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB)targeting wide bandwidth (for example, 80 MHz or beyond), millimeterwave (mmWave) targeting high carrier frequency (for example, 25 GHz orbeyond), massive machine type communications MTC (mMTC) targetingnon-backward compatible MTC techniques, or mission critical servicestargeting ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC). Theseservices may include latency and reliability requirements. Theseservices may also have different transmission time intervals (TTI) tomeet respective quality of service (QoS) requirements. In addition,these services may co-exist in the same time-domain resource (forexample, a slot or subframe) or frequency-domain resource (for example,component carrier).

As illustrated in FIG. 1 , the wireless communication network 100 mayinclude a number of base stations (BSs) 110 a-z (each also individuallyreferred to herein as BS 110 or collectively as BSs 110) and othernetwork entities. A BS 110 may provide communication coverage for aparticular geographic area, sometimes referred to as a “cell”, which maybe stationary or may move according to the location of a mobile BS 110.In some examples, the BSs 110 may be interconnected to one another or toone or more other BSs or network nodes (not shown) in wirelesscommunication network 100 through various types of backhaul interfaces(for example, a direct physical connection, a wireless connection, avirtual network, or the like) using any suitable transport network. Inthe example shown in FIG. 1 , the BSs 110 a, 110 b and 110 c may bemacro BSs for the macro cells 102 a, 102 b and 102 c, respectively. TheBS 110 x may be a pico BS for a pico cell 102 x. The BSs 110 y and 110 zmay be femto BSs for the femto cells 102 y and 102 z, respectively. A BSmay support one or multiple cells. The BSs 110 communicate with userequipment (UEs) 120 a-y (each also individually referred to herein as UE120 or collectively as UEs 120) in the wireless communication network100. The UEs 120 (for example, 120 x, 120 y, etc.) may be dispersedthroughout the wireless communication network 100, and each UE 120 maybe stationary or mobile.

Wireless communication network 100 may also include relay stations (forexample, relay station 110 r), also referred to as relays or the like,that receive a transmission of data or other information from anupstream station (for example, a BS 110 a or a UE 120 r) and sends atransmission of the data or other information to a downstream station(for example, a UE 120 or a BS 110), or that relays transmissionsbetween UEs 120, to facilitate communication between devices.

A network controller 130 may couple to a set of BSs 110 and providecoordination and control for these BSs 110. The network controller 130may communicate with the BSs 110 via a backhaul. The BSs 110 may alsocommunicate with one another (for example, directly or indirectly) viawireless or wireline backhaul.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram illustrating an example base station (BS)and an example user equipment (UE) in accordance with some aspects ofthe present disclosure.

At the BS 110, a transmit processor 220 may receive data from a datasource 212 and control information from a controller/processor 240. Thecontrol information may be for the physical broadcast channel (PBCH),physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH), physical hybrid ARQindicator channel (PHICH), physical downlink control channel (PDCCH),group common PDCCH (GC PDCCH), etc. The data may be for the physicaldownlink shared channel (PDSCH), etc. The processor 220 may process (forexample, encode and symbol map) the data and control information toobtain data symbols and control symbols, respectively. The transmitprocessor 220 may also generate reference symbols, such as for theprimary synchronization signal (PSS), secondary synchronization signal(SSS), and cell-specific reference signal (CRS). A transmit (TX)multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 230 may perform spatialprocessing (for example, precoding) on the data symbols, the controlsymbols, or the reference symbols, if applicable, and may provide outputsymbol streams to the modulators (MODs) 232 a-232 t. Each modulator 232may process a respective output symbol stream (for example, for OFDM,etc.) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator may furtherprocess (for example, convert to analog, amplify, filter, and upconvert)the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. Downlink signalsfrom modulators 232 a-232 t may be transmitted via the antennas 234a-234 t, respectively.

At the UE 120, the antennas 252 a-252 r may receive the downlink signalsfrom the BS 110 and may provide received signals to the demodulators(DEMODs) in transceivers 254 a-254 r, respectively. Each demodulator 254may condition (for example, filter, amplify, downconvert, and digitize)a respective received signal to obtain input samples. Each demodulatormay further process the input samples (for example, for OFDM, etc.) toobtain received symbols. A MIMO detector 256 may obtain received symbolsfrom all the demodulators 254 a-254 r, perform MIMO detection on thereceived symbols if applicable, and provide detected symbols. A receiveprocessor 258 may process (for example, demodulate, deinterleave, anddecode) the detected symbols, provide decoded data for the UE 120 to adata sink 260, and provide decoded control information to acontroller/processor 280.

On the uplink, at UE 120, a transmit processor 264 may receive andprocess data (for example, for the physical uplink shared channel(PUSCH)) from a data source 262 and control information (for example,for the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) from thecontroller/processor 280. The transmit processor 264 may also generatereference symbols for a reference signal (for example, for the soundingreference signal (SRS)). The symbols from the transmit processor 264 maybe precoded by a TX MIMO processor 266 if applicable, further processedby the demodulators in transceivers 254 a-254 r (for example, forSC-FDM, etc.), and transmitted to the BS 110. At the BS 110, the uplinksignals from the UE 120 may be received by the antennas 234, processedby the modulators 232, detected by a MIMO detector 236 if applicable,and further processed by a receive processor 238 to obtain decoded dataand control information sent by the UE 120. The receive processor 238may provide the decoded data to a data sink 239 and the decoded controlinformation to the controller/processor 240.

The memories 242 and 282 may store data and program codes for BS 110 andUE 120, respectively. A scheduler 244 may schedule UEs for datatransmission on the downlink or uplink.

The controller/processor 280 or other processors and modules at the UE120 may perform or direct the execution of processes for the techniquesdescribed herein. As shown in FIG. 2 , the controller/processor 280 ofthe UE 120 has a QoS parameter updating module 122 that may beconfigured to perform operations 400 of FIG. 4 , as discussed in furtherdetail below. The controller/processor 240 of the base station 110includes a QoS parameter configuration module that may be configured totransmit QoS configuration messages to a UE for processing. Althoughshown at the Controller/Processor, other components of the UE or BS maybe used to perform the operations described herein.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a frame format 300 for NR. Thetransmission timeline for each of the downlink and uplink may bepartitioned into units of radio frames. Each radio frame may have apredetermined duration (e.g., 10 ms) and may be partitioned into 10subframes, each of 1 ms, with indices of 0 through 9. Each subframe mayinclude a variable number of slots depending on the subcarrier spacing.Each slot may include a variable number of symbol periods (e.g., 7 or 14symbols) depending on the subcarrier spacing. The symbol periods in eachslot may be assigned indices. A mini-slot, which may be referred to as asub-slot structure, refers to a transmit time interval having a durationless than a slot (e.g., 2, 3, or 4 symbols).

Each symbol in a slot may indicate a link direction (e.g., DL, UL, orflexible) for data transmission and the link direction for each subframemay be dynamically switched. The link directions may be based on theslot format. Each slot may include DL/UL data as well as DL/UL controlinformation.

In NR, a synchronization signal (SS) block is transmitted. The SS blockincludes a PSS, a SSS, and a two symbol PBCH. The SS block can betransmitted in a fixed slot location, such as the symbols 0-3 as shownin FIG. 3 . The PSS and SSS may be used by UEs for cell search andacquisition. The PSS may provide half-frame timing, the SS may providethe CP length and frame timing. The PSS and SSS may provide the cellidentity. The PBCH carries some basic system information, such asdownlink system bandwidth, timing information within radio frame, SSburst set periodicity, system frame number, etc. The SS blocks may beorganized into SS bursts to support beam sweeping. Further systeminformation such as, remaining minimum system information (RMSI), systeminformation blocks (SIBs), other system information (OSI) can betransmitted on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in certainsubframes. The SS block can be transmitted up to sixty-four times, forexample, with up to sixty-four different beam directions for mmW. The upto sixty-four transmissions of the SS block are referred to as the SSburst set. SS blocks in an SS burst set are transmitted in the samefrequency region, while SS blocks in different SS bursts sets can betransmitted at different frequency locations.

A control resource set (CORESET) for systems, such as an NR and LTEsystems, may comprise one or more control resource (e.g., time andfrequency resources) sets, configured for conveying PDCCH, within thesystem bandwidth. Within each CORESET, one or more search spaces (e.g.,common search space (CSS), UE-specific search space (USS), etc.) may bedefined for a given UE. According to aspects of the present disclosure,a CORESET is a set of time and frequency domain resources, defined inunits of resource element groups (REGs). Each REG may comprise a fixednumber (e.g., twelve) tones in one symbol period (e.g., a symbol periodof a slot), where one tone in one symbol period is referred to as aresource element (RE). A fixed number of REGs may be included in acontrol channel element (CCE). Sets of CCEs may be used to transmit newradio PDCCHs (NR-PDCCHs), with different numbers of CCEs in the setsused to transmit NR-PDCCHs using differing aggregation levels. Multiplesets of CCEs may be defined as search spaces for UEs, and thus a NodeBor other base station may transmit an NR-PDCCH to a UE by transmittingthe NR-PDCCH in a set of CCEs that is defined as a decoding candidatewithin a search space for the UE, and the UE may receive the NR-PDCCH bysearching in search spaces for the UE and decoding the NR-PDCCHtransmitted by the NodeB.

Example Methods for Updating Quality of Service (QoS) Information forOperations in a First Radio Access Technology while Connected to aNetwork Entity Using a Second Radio Access Technology

Aspects of the present disclosure provide apparatus, methods, processingsystems, and computer readable mediums for updating quality of service(QoS) information in an environment where devices using a first radioaccess technology and devices using a second radio access technologycoexist.

In LTE networks using the Evolved Packet System (EPS), QoS may beachieved by applying different parameters to different EPS bearercontexts within a packet data network (PDN) connection to a networkentity identified by an access point name (APN). Similarly, in NRnetworks using the 5G System (5GS), QoS may be achieved by applyingdifferent parameters to QoS flows within a packet data unit (PDU)session with a network entity identified by a data network name (DNN).In an environment where a network using a first radio access technology(e.g., LTE) and a network using a second radio access technology (e.g.,NR) coexist and a UE can operate on either network, mappings between EPSand 5GS session management parameters may allow for QoS information tobe shared across different networks. For example, PDN connectioninformation in EPS QoS information may correspond to PDU sessioninformation in 5GS QoS information; EPS bearer information in EPS QoSinformation may correspond to QoS flow information in 5GS QoSinformation; APN information may correspond to a DNN; and a traffic flowtemplate (TFT) for an EPS bearer in EPS QoS information may correspondto one or more QoS rules for a QoS flow in 5GS QoS information.

Generally, mapped 5GS QoS information may include QoS flow descriptionsand QoS flow rules. A QoS flow description generally includes a QoS FlowIdentifier (QFI), an operation code, and one or more other parameters.The QFI may identify a specific operation to be performed in respect ofthe QoS information, such as creating a new QoS flow description,deleting an existing QoS flow description, or modifying a QoS flowdescription. The one or more other parameters may include a 5G QoSIdentifier (5QI), guaranteed flow bit rate for the uplink (GFBR UL),guaranteed flow bit rate for the downlink (GFBR DL), maximum flow bitrate for the uplink (MFBR UL), maximum flow bit rate for the downlink(MFBR DL), an averaging window, and an EPS bearer identity (EBI). TheQoS flow rules may include a QoS rule identifier, a rule operation code,an indication of whether the QoS rule is the default QoS rule, packetfilters, a QoS rule precedence, and a QFI.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example network in which interworking isestablished between an LTE and an NR network. When a PDN connection isestablished in the LTE network and an interface connecting the LTE andNR networks is present (e.g., the N26 interface), the network maytransmit, to a UE, mapped 5GS QoS information for each EPS bearer beingactivated. By transmitting the mapped QoS information for each EPSbearer being activated, a UE may know which QoS flows to create andwhich QoS parameters to apply if and when the data session istransferred from an LTE to an NR network. The network may also updatethe mapped 5GS QoS information during EPS bearer context modification.The activation and modification of QoS information may be carried, forexample, in a Protocol Configuration Options (PCO) or enhanced PCO(ePCO) information element in various messages, such as the ACTIVATEDEFAULT EPS BEARER CONTEXT REQUEST, ACTIVATE DEDICATED EPS BEARERCONTEXT REQUEST, or MODIFY EPS BEARER CONTEXT REQUEST messages.

The mapping between 5GS QoS information and the corresponding EPS bearermay be performed based on the inclusion of the EBI in the mapped 5G QoSinformation. To simplify processing at a UE, the network may onlyinclude mapped 5GS QoS information corresponding to the EPS bearercontext that is being activated or modified. If the EBI is omitted inthe mapped 5G QoS information, the UE may assume that the mapped 5GS QoSinformation is associated with the EPS bearer context that is beingactivated or modified. Otherwise, if the EBI is included in the mapped5GS QoS information and the included EBI is not the EBI of the mappedbearer context that is being activated or modified, the UE may discardthe mapped 5G QoS information and report an error to the network.

In some cases, however, problems may arise with the inclusion of mapped5GS QoS information in an activation or modification message. If themapped 5GS QoS information (1) does not include an EBI or includes theEBI of the active EPS bearer, and (2) includes QoS rules or QoS flowdescriptions already associated with an EPS bearer context other thanthe EPS bearer context being activated or modified, the processing ofsuch information may cause the UE to apply the specified operation(e.g., QoS rule creation) to the EPS bearer context being activated ormodified and to delete the QoS rule or QoS flow description associatedwith the EPS bearer context other than the EPS bearer context beingactivated or modified. In doing so, the UE may not report an error tothe network. In these cases, EPS bearer contexts not being activated ormodified may be impacted unintendedly.

FIG. 5 illustrates example scenarios in which mapped 5GS QoS informationmay cause an unintended impact to QoS configurations associated withother EPS bearer contexts. For example, in a first example, the UE mayreceive an ACTIVATE DEDICATED EPS BEARER CONTEXT REQUEST message on EPSbearer 6, and the mapped QoS information in the message includes a QFIof 1 and an omitted mapped EBI or an EBI of 6. The UE may apply the EPScreation for EPS bearer 6. However, because QFI 1 has been mapped to EBI5, the UE may delete the QoS flow for EPS bearer 5, which the UE is notsupposed to modify.

FIG. 6 illustrates example operations that may be performed by a userequipment to update a QoS configuration based on mapped 5GS QoSinformation. Generally, operations 600 may be performed when the UEexecutes an operation on the received 5GS mapped QoS information ordeletes an existing QoS rule and/or QoS flow description, and theexisting QoS rule and/or QoS flow description is associated with (e.g.,mapped to) the EPS bearer context being activated or modified.

As illustrated, operations 600 begin at block 602, where the UEreceives, from a network entity, quality of service (QoS) information, aQoS identifier associated with the QoS information, and a bearer contextassociated with the QoS information. The QoS information, QoSidentifier, and the bearer context associated with the QoS informationmay be received in one of a modify bearer context request message, anactivate default bearer context request message, or an activatededicated bearer context request message. Generally, the QoS informationmay be associated with a QoS rule identifier or a QoS flow identifier,and the QoS rule identifier or QoS flow identifier may be associatedwith an EPS bearer context based on a mapping between the QoS ruleidentifier or QoS flow identifier and the EPS bearer context.

At block 604, the UE updates a QoS configuration using the QoSinformation based on whether QoS information associated with the QoSidentifier is already configured for a bearer context different from thebearer context associated with the QoS information included in thereceived message (e.g., the modify bearer context request message, theactivate default bearer context request message, or the an activatededicated bearer context request message).

In some embodiments, the QoS information and the received QoSinformation may be associated with different bearer contexts. The QoSinformation and the received QoS information may belong to the same ordifferent PDN connections.

In some embodiments, the QoS information, the QoS identifier associatedwith the QoS information, and the bearer context associated with the QoSinformation is received in a MODIFY EPS BEARER CONTEXT REQUEST message.The rule operation may specify that the UE is to create a new QoS rule,modify an existing QoS rule and add packet filters, modify an existingQoS rule and replace all packet filters, or modify an existing QoS rulewithout modifying packet filters. If there is already an existing QoSrule with the same QoS rule identifier, and the QoS rule identifier isassociated with a QoS flow description stored for an EPS bearer contextother than the EPS bearer context identified in the message, the UE maynot perform the rule operation and may discard the QoS rule information.The UE may report an error to a network entity. The report may becarried, for example, in a PCO or ePCO IE with an indication that asemantic error exists in the QoS operation. In some embodiments, the PCOor ePCO IE may be transmitted in a MODIFY EPS BEARER CONTEXT ACCEPTmessage.

In some embodiments, a flow description operation may specify that a UEis to create a new QoS flow description, modify an existing QoS flowdescription, or delete an existing QoS flow description. If there isalready an existing QoS flow description with the same QoS flowidentifier as that included in the request and the QoS flow identifieris stored for an EPS bearer context different from the EPS bearercontext identified in the message (i.e., the EPS bearer context beingmodified), the UE may not perform the flow description operation and maydiscard the flow description information. The UE may report an error toa network entity. The error may be carried, for example, in a PCO orePCO IE with an indication that a semantic error exists in the QoSoperation. In some embodiments, the PCO or ePCO IE may be transmitted ina MODIFY EPS BEARER CONTEXT ACCEPT message.

In some embodiments, the QoS information, the QoS identifier, and thebearer context associated with the QoS information may be included in anACTIVATE DEFAULT EPS BEARER CONTEXT REQUEST or ACTIVATE DEDICATED EPSBEARER CONTEXT REQUEST message. The flow description operation mayspecify that the UE is to create a new QoS flow operation. If a QoS flowdescription exists with the same QoS flow identifier as that included inthe message and the QoS flow identifier is stored for an EPS bearercontext different from the EPS bearer context identified in the message(i.e., the EPS bearer context being activated), the UE may not performthe flow description operation and may discard the flow descriptionoperation. The UE may report an error to a network entity. The error maybe carried, for example, in a PCO or ePCO IE with an indication that asemantic error exists in the QoS operation. In some embodiments, the PCOor ePCO IE may be transmitted in an ACTIVATE DEFAULT EPS BEARER CONTEXTACCEPT message or an ACTIVATE DEDICATED EPS BEARER CONTEXT ACCEPTmessage.

In some embodiments, the MODIFY EPS BEARER CONTEXT REQUEST message, theACTIVATE DEFAULT EPS BEARER CONTEXT REQUEST, or the ACTIVATE DEDICATEDEPS BEARER CONTEXT REQUEST message may be used to generate a new QoSrule associated with a given QoS identifier. If there is already anexisting QoS rule associated with the QoS identifier and that the QoSidentifier is not associated with a bearer context, the UE can discardthe received QoS information and generate an error message indicatingthat the QoS information was discarded. As discussed, the error messagemay be transmitted by the UE to a network entity, for example, in a PCOor ePCO IE with an indication that a semantic error exists in the QoSoperation.

FIG. 7 illustrates a communications device 700 that may include variouscomponents (e.g., corresponding to means-plus-function components)configured to perform operations for the techniques disclosed herein,such as the operations illustrated in FIG. 6 . The communications device700 includes a processing system 702 coupled to a transceiver 708. Thetransceiver 708 is configured to transmit and receive signals for thecommunications device 700 via an antenna 710, such as the varioussignals as described herein. The processing system 702 may be configuredto perform processing functions for the communications device 700,including processing signals received and/or to be transmitted by thecommunications device 700.

The processing system 702 includes a processor 704 coupled to acomputer-readable medium/memory 712 via a bus 706. In certain aspects,the computer-readable medium/memory 712 is configured to storeinstructions (e.g., computer-executable code) that when executed by theprocessor 704, cause the processor 704 to perform the operationsillustrated in FIG. 6 , or other operations for performing the varioustechniques discussed herein to update a QoS configuration based onmapped 5GS QoS information. In certain aspects, computer-readablemedium/memory 712 stores code 714 for receiving quality of service (QoS)information, a QoS identifier associated with the QoS information, and abearer context associated with the QoS information; and code 716 forupdating a QoS configuration using the QoS information. The processor714 includes circuitry 718 for receiving quality of service (QoS)information, a QoS identifier associated with the QoS information, and abearer context associated with the QoS information; and circuitry 720for updating a QoS configuration using the QoS information.

Example Clauses

Clause 1: A method for wireless communications by a user equipment (UE),comprising: receiving, from a network entity, quality of service (QoS)information, a QoS identifier associated with the QoS information, and abearer context associated with the QoS information in one of a modifybearer context request message, an activate default bearer contextrequest message, or an activate dedicated bearer context requestmessage, wherein the QoS information comprises parameters for a firstradio access technology mapped to corresponding parameters for a secondradio access technology; and updating a QoS configuration using the QoSinformation based on whether the UE is already configured with QoSinformation associated with the QoS identifier for a bearer contextdifferent from the bearer context associated with the QoS informationreceived in the modify bearer context request message, activate defaultbearer context request message, or activate dedicated bearer contextrequest message.

Clause 2: The method of Clause 1, wherein the bearer context differentfrom the bearer context associated with the received QoS informationbelongs to a same packet data network (PDN) connection as the bearercontext associated with the received QoS information.

Clause 3: The method of Clauses 1 or 2, wherein the QoS identifiercomprises a QoS rule identifier.

Clause 4: The method of Clause 3, wherein updating the QoS configurationcomprises: determining that an existing QoS rule is associated with theQoS identifier and that the QoS identifier is associated with a QoS flowdescription stored for a bearer context different from the bearercontext associated with the QoS information received in the modifybearer context request message, activate default bearer context requestmessage, or activate dedicated bearer context request message;discarding the received QoS information; and generating an error messageindicating that the received QoS information was discarded.

Clause 5: The method of Clauses 1 or 2, wherein: the modify bearercontext request message, the activate default bearer context requestmessage, or the activate dedicated bearer context request messageincludes an indication to create a new QoS rule; and updating the QoSconfiguration comprises: determining that an existing QoS rule isassociated with the QoS identifier and that the QoS identifier is notassociated with a bearer context; discarding the received QoSinformation; and generating an error message indicating that thereceived QoS information was discarded.

Clause 6: The method of any of Clauses 1 through 5, wherein the QoSidentifier comprises a QoS flow identifier.

Clause 7: The method of Clause 6, wherein updating the QoS configurationcomprises: determining that an existing QoS flow description isassociated with the QoS identifier and that the QoS identifier isassociated with a bearer context different from the bearer contextassociated with the QoS information received in the modify bearercontext request message, activate default bearer context requestmessage, or activate dedicated bearer context request message;discarding the received QoS information; and generating an error messageindicating that the received QoS information was discarded.

Clause 8: An apparatus, comprising: a memory; and a processor configuredto perform the operations of any of Clauses 1 through 7.

Clause 9: An apparatus, comprising: means for performing the operationsof any of Clauses 1 through 7.

Clause 10: A computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereonwhich, when executed by a processor, performs the operations of any ofClauses 1 through 7.

Additional Considerations

The techniques described herein may be used for various wirelesscommunication technologies, such as NR (for example, 5G NR), 3GPP LongTerm Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), code division multipleaccess (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency divisionmultiple access (FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access(OFDMA), single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA),time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA), andother networks. The terms “network” and “system” are often usedinterchangeably. A CDMA network may implement a radio technology such asUniversal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), cdma2000, etc. UTRA includesWideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other variants of CDMA. cdma2000 coversIS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856 standards. A TDMA network may implement aradio technology such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM).An OFDMA network may implement a radio technology such as NR (e.g. 5GRA), Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11(Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDMA, etc. UTRA andE-UTRA are part of Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS). LTEand LTE-A are releases of UMTS that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE,LTE-A and GSM are described in documents from an organization named “3rdGeneration Partnership Project” (3GPP). cdma2000 and UMB are describedin documents from an organization named “3rd Generation PartnershipProject 2” (3GPP2). NR is an emerging wireless communications technologyunder development.

The techniques described herein may be used for the wireless networksand radio technologies mentioned above as well as other wirelessnetworks and radio technologies. For clarity, while aspects may bedescribed herein using terminology commonly associated with 3G, 4G, or5G wireless technologies, aspects of the present disclosure can beapplied in other generation-based communication systems.

In 3GPP, the term “cell” can refer to a coverage area of a Node B (NB)or a NB subsystem serving this coverage area, depending on the contextin which the term is used. In NR systems, the term “cell” and BS, nextgeneration NodeB (gNB or gNodeB), access point (AP), distributed unit(DU), carrier, or transmission reception point (TRP) may be usedinterchangeably. A BS may provide communication coverage for a macrocell, a pico cell, a femto cell, or other types of cells. A macro cellmay cover a relatively large geographic area (for example, severalkilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs withservice subscription. A pico cell may cover a relatively smallgeographic area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with servicesubscription. A femto cell may cover a relatively small geographic area(for example, a home) and may allow restricted access by UEs having anassociation with the femto cell (for example, UEs in a Closed SubscriberGroup (CSG), UEs for users in the home, etc.). A BS for a macro cell maybe referred to as a macro BS. A BS for a pico cell may be referred to asa pico BS. ABS for a femto cell may be referred to as a femto BS or ahome BS.

A UE may also be referred to as a mobile station, a terminal, an accessterminal, a subscriber unit, a station, a Customer Premises Equipment(CPE), a cellular phone, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant(PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handhelddevice, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL)station, a tablet computer, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, asmartbook, an ultrabook, an appliance, a medical device or medicalequipment, a biometric sensor/device, a wearable device such as a smartwatch, smart clothing, smart glasses, a smart wrist band, smart jewelry(for example, a smart ring, a smart bracelet, etc.), an entertainmentdevice (for example, a music device, a video device, a satellite radio,etc.), a vehicular component or sensor, a smart meter/sensor, industrialmanufacturing equipment, a global positioning system device, or anyother suitable device that is configured to communicate via a wirelessor wired medium. Some UEs may be considered machine-type communication(MTC) devices or evolved MTC (eMTC) devices. MTC and eMTC UEs include,for example, robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters, monitors,location tags, etc., that may communicate with a BS, another device (forexample, remote device), or some other entity. A wireless node mayprovide, for example, connectivity for or to a network (for example, awide area network such as Internet or a cellular network) via a wired orwireless communication link. Some UEs may be consideredInternet-of-Things (IoT) devices, which may be narrowband IoT (NB-IoT)devices.

Some wireless networks (for example, LTE) utilize orthogonal frequencydivision multiplexing (OFDM) on the downlink and single-carrierfrequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink. OFDM and SC-FDMpartition the system bandwidth into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers,which are also commonly referred to as tones, bins, etc. Each subcarriermay be modulated with data. In general, modulation symbols are sent inthe frequency domain with OFDM and in the time domain with SC-FDM. Thespacing between adjacent subcarriers may be fixed, and the total numberof subcarriers (K) may be dependent on the system bandwidth. Forexample, the spacing of the subcarriers may be 15 kHz and the minimumresource allocation (called a “resource block” (RB)) may be 12subcarriers (or 180 kHz). Consequently, the nominal Fast FourierTransfer (FFT) size may be equal to 128, 256, 512, 1024 or 2048 forsystem bandwidth of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 megahertz (MHz),respectively. The system bandwidth may also be partitioned intosubbands. For example, a subband may cover 1.08 MHz (for example, 6RBs), and there may be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 subbands for system bandwidthof 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10 or 20 MHz, respectively. In LTE, the basictransmission time interval (TTI) or packet duration is the 1 mssubframe.

NR may utilize OFDM with a CP on the uplink and downlink and includesupport for half-duplex operation using TDD. In NR, a subframe is still1 ms, but the basic TTI is referred to as a slot. A subframe contains avariable number of slots (for example, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, . . . slots)depending on the subcarrier spacing. The NR RB is 12 consecutivefrequency subcarriers. NR may support a base subcarrier spacing of 15KHz and other subcarrier spacing may be defined with respect to the basesubcarrier spacing, for example, 30 kHz, 60 kHz, 120 kHz, 240 kHz, etc.The symbol and slot lengths scale with the subcarrier spacing. The CPlength also depends on the subcarrier spacing. Beamforming may besupported and beam direction may be dynamically configured. MIMOtransmissions with precoding may also be supported. In some examples,MIMO configurations in the DL may support up to 8 transmit antennas withmulti-layer DL transmissions up to 8 streams and up to 2 streams per UE.In some examples, multi-layer transmissions with up to 2 streams per UEmay be supported. Aggregation of multiple cells may be supported with upto 8 serving cells.

In some examples, access to the air interface may be scheduled. Ascheduling entity (for example, a BS) allocates resources forcommunication among some or all devices and equipment within its servicearea or cell. The scheduling entity may be responsible for scheduling,assigning, reconfiguring, and releasing resources for one or moresubordinate entities. That is, for scheduled communication, subordinateentities utilize resources allocated by the scheduling entity. Basestations are not the only entities that may function as a schedulingentity. In some examples, a UE may function as a scheduling entity andmay schedule resources for one or more subordinate entities (forexample, one or more other UEs), and the other UEs may utilize theresources scheduled by the UE for wireless communication. In someexamples, a UE may function as a scheduling entity in a peer-to-peer(P2P) network, or in a mesh network. In a mesh network example, UEs maycommunicate directly with one another in addition to communicating witha scheduling entity.

As used herein, the term “determining” may encompass one or more of awide variety of actions. For example, “determining” may includecalculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up(for example, looking up in a table, a database or another datastructure), assuming and the like. Also, “determining” may includereceiving (for example, receiving information), accessing (for example,accessing data in a memory) and the like. Also, “determining” mayinclude resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing and the like.

As used herein, “or” is used intended to be interpreted in the inclusivesense, unless otherwise explicitly indicated. For example, “a or b” mayinclude a only, b only, or a combination of a and b. As used herein, aphrase referring to “at least one of” or “one or more of” a list ofitems refers to any combination of those items, including singlemembers. For example, “at least one of: a, b, or c” is intended to coverthe possibilities of: a only, b only, c only, a combination of a and b,a combination of a and c, a combination of b and c, and a combination ofa and b and c.

The various illustrative components, logic, logical blocks, modules,circuits, operations and algorithm processes described in connectionwith the implementations disclosed herein may be implemented aselectronic hardware, firmware, software, or combinations of hardware,firmware or software, including the structures disclosed in thisspecification and the structural equivalents thereof. Theinterchangeability of hardware, firmware and software has been describedgenerally, in terms of functionality, and illustrated in the variousillustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits and processesdescribed above. Whether such functionality is implemented in hardware,firmware or software depends upon the particular application and designconstraints imposed on the overall system.

Various modifications to the implementations described in thisdisclosure may be readily apparent to persons having ordinary skill inthe art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied toother implementations without departing from the spirit or scope of thisdisclosure. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to theimplementations shown herein, but are to be accorded the widest scopeconsistent with this disclosure, the principles and the novel featuresdisclosed herein.

Additionally, various features that are described in this specificationin the context of separate implementations also can be implemented incombination in a single implementation. Conversely, various featuresthat are described in the context of a single implementation also can beimplemented in multiple implementations separately or in any suitablesubcombination. As such, although features may be described above asacting in particular combinations, and even initially claimed as such,one or more features from a claimed combination can in some cases beexcised from the combination, and the claimed combination may bedirected to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particularorder, this should not be understood as requiring that such operationsbe performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, orthat all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirableresults. Further, the drawings may schematically depict one or moreexample processes in the form of a flowchart or flow diagram. However,other operations that are not depicted can be incorporated in theexample processes that are schematically illustrated. For example, oneor more additional operations can be performed before, after,simultaneously, or between any of the illustrated operations. In somecircumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous.Moreover, the separation of various system components in theimplementations described above should not be understood as requiringsuch separation in all implementations, and it should be understood thatthe described program components and systems can generally be integratedtogether in a single software product or packaged into multiple softwareproducts.

1. A method for wireless communications by a user equipment (UE),comprising: receiving, from a network entity, quality of service (QoS)information, a QoS identifier associated with the QoS information, and abearer context associated with the QoS information in a request message,wherein the QoS information comprises parameters for a first radioaccess technology mapped to corresponding parameters for a second radioaccess technology; and discarding a QoS configuration using the QoSinformation when the UE is already configured with QoS informationassociated with the QoS identifier for a bearer context different fromthe bearer context associated with the QoS information received in therequest message.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the request messagecomprises one of a modify bearer context request message, an activatedefault bearer context request message, or an activate dedicated bearercontext request message.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the bearercontext different from the bearer context associated with the receivedQoS information belongs to a same packet data network (PDN) connectionas the bearer context associated with the received QoS information. 4.The method of claim 1, wherein the QoS identifier comprises a QoS ruleidentifier.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein discarding the QoSconfiguration comprises: determining that an existing QoS rule isassociated with the QoS identifier and that the QoS identifier isassociated with a QoS flow description stored for a bearer contextdifferent from the bearer context associated with the QoS informationreceived in the request message; discarding the received QoSinformation; and generating an error message indicating that thereceived QoS information was discarded.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein: the request message includes an indication to create a new QoSrule; and discarding the QoS configuration comprises: determining thatan existing QoS rule is associated with the QoS identifier and that theQoS identifier is not associated with a bearer context; discarding thereceived QoS information; and generating an error message indicatingthat the received QoS information was discarded.
 7. The method of claim1, wherein the QoS identifier comprises a QoS flow identifier.
 8. Themethod of claim 7, wherein discarding the QoS configuration comprises:determining that an existing QoS flow description is associated with theQoS identifier and that the QoS identifier is associated with a bearercontext different from the bearer context associated with the QoSinformation received in the request message; discarding the received QoSinformation; and generating an error message indicating that thereceived QoS information was discarded.
 9. An apparatus for wirelesscommunications by a user equipment (UE), comprising: a processorconfigured to: receive, from a network entity, quality of service (QoS)information, a QoS identifier associated with the QoS information, and abearer context associated with the QoS information in a request message,wherein the QoS information comprises parameters for a first radioaccess technology mapped to corresponding parameters for a second radioaccess technology, and discard a QoS configuration using the QoSinformation when the UE is already configured with QoS informationassociated with the QoS identifier for a bearer context different fromthe bearer context associated with the QoS information received in therequest message; and a memory.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein therequest message comprises one of a modify bearer context requestmessage, an activate default bearer context request message, or anactivate dedicated bearer context request message.
 11. The apparatus ofclaim 9, wherein the bearer context different from the bearer contextassociated with the received QoS information belongs to a same packetdata network (PDN) connection as the bearer context associated with thereceived QoS information.
 12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the QoSidentifier comprises a QoS rule identifier.
 13. The apparatus of claim12, wherein the processor is configured to discard the QoS configurationby: determining that an existing QoS rule is associated with the QoSidentifier and that the QoS identifier is associated with a QoS flowdescription stored for a bearer context different from the bearercontext associated with the QoS information received in the modifybearer context request message, activate default bearer context requestmessage, or activate dedicated bearer context request message;discarding the received QoS information; and generating an error messageindicating that the received QoS information was discarded.
 14. Theapparatus of claim 9, wherein: the modify bearer context requestmessage, the activate default bearer context request message, or theactivate dedicated bearer context request message includes an indicationto create a new QoS rule; and the processor is configured to discard theQoS configuration by: determining that an existing QoS rule isassociated with the QoS identifier and that the QoS identifier is notassociated with a bearer context; discarding the received QoSinformation; and generating an error message indicating that thereceived QoS information was discarded.
 15. The apparatus of claim 9,wherein the QoS identifier comprises a QoS flow identifier.
 16. Theapparatus of claim 15, wherein the processor is configured to discardthe QoS configuration by: determining that an existing QoS flowdescription is associated with the QoS identifier and that the QoSidentifier is associated with a bearer context different from the bearercontext associated with the QoS information received in the modifybearer context request message, activate default bearer context requestmessage, or activate dedicated bearer context request message;discarding the received QoS information; and generating an error messageindicating that the received QoS information was discarded.
 17. Anapparatus for wireless communications by a user equipment (UE),comprising: means for receiving, from a network entity, quality ofservice (QoS) information, a QoS identifier associated with the QoSinformation, and a bearer context associated with the QoS information ina request message, wherein the QoS information comprises parameters fora first radio access technology mapped to corresponding parameters for asecond radio access technology; and means for discarding a QoSconfiguration using the QoS information when the UE is alreadyconfigured with QoS information associated with the QoS identifier for abearer context different from the bearer context associated with the QoSinformation received in the request message.
 18. The apparatus of claim17, wherein the request message comprises one of a modify bearer contextrequest message, an activate default bearer context request message, oran activate dedicated bearer context request message.
 19. The apparatusof claim 17, wherein the bearer context different from the bearercontext associated with the received QoS information belongs to a samepacket data network (PDN) connection as the bearer context associatedwith the received QoS information.
 20. The apparatus of claim 17,wherein the QoS identifier comprises a QoS rule identifier.
 21. Theapparatus of claim 20, wherein the means for discarding the QoSconfiguration comprises: means for determining that an existing QoS ruleis associated with the QoS identifier and that the QoS identifier isassociated with a QoS flow description stored for a bearer contextdifferent from the bearer context associated with the QoS informationreceived in the modify bearer context request message, activate defaultbearer context request message, or activate dedicated bearer contextrequest message; means for discarding the received QoS information; andmeans for generating an error message indicating that the received QoSinformation was discarded.
 22. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein: themodify bearer context request message, the activate default bearercontext request message, or the activate dedicated bearer contextrequest message includes an indication to create a new QoS rule; and themeans for discarding the QoS configuration comprises: means fordetermining that an existing QoS rule is associated with the QoSidentifier and that the QoS identifier is not associated with a bearercontext; means for discarding the received QoS information; and meansfor generating an error message indicating that the received QoSinformation was discarded.
 23. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein theQoS identifier comprises a QoS flow identifier.
 24. The apparatus ofclaim 23, wherein the means for discarding the QoS configurationcomprises: means for determining that an existing QoS flow descriptionis associated with the QoS identifier and that the QoS identifier isassociated with a bearer context different from the bearer contextassociated with the QoS information received in the modify bearercontext request message, activate default bearer context requestmessage, or activate dedicated bearer context request message; means fordiscarding the received QoS information; and means for generating anerror message indicating that the received QoS information wasdiscarded.
 25. A computer-readable medium having instructions storedthereon which, when executed by a processor, performs an operation forwireless communications by a user equipment (UE), the operationcomprising: receiving, from a network entity, quality of service (QoS)information, a QoS identifier associated with the QoS information, and abearer context associated with the QoS information in a request message,wherein the QoS information comprises parameters for a first radioaccess technology mapped to corresponding parameters for a second radioaccess technology; and discarding a QoS configuration using the QoSinformation when the UE is already configured with QoS informationassociated with the QoS identifier for a bearer context different fromthe bearer context associated with the QoS information received in therequest message.
 26. The computer-readable medium of claim 25, whereinthe bearer context different from the bearer context associated with thereceived QoS information belongs to a same packet data network (PDN)connection as the bearer context associated with the received QoSinformation.
 27. The computer-readable medium of claim 25, wherein theQoS identifier comprises a QoS rule identifier.
 28. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 27, wherein discarding the QoSconfiguration comprises: determining that an existing QoS rule isassociated with the QoS identifier and that the QoS identifier isassociated with a QoS flow description stored for a bearer contextdifferent from the bearer context associated with the QoS informationreceived in the modify bearer context request message, activate defaultbearer context request message, or activate dedicated bearer contextrequest message; discarding the received QoS information; and generatingan error message indicating that the received QoS information wasdiscarded.
 29. The computer-readable medium of claim 25, wherein: themodify bearer context request message, the activate default bearercontext request message, or the activate dedicated bearer contextrequest message includes an indication to create a new QoS rule; anddiscarding the QoS configuration comprises: determining that an existingQoS rule is associated with the QoS identifier and that the QoSidentifier is not associated with a bearer context; discarding thereceived QoS information; and generating an error message indicatingthat the received QoS information was discarded.
 30. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 25, wherein: the QoS identifiercomprises a QoS flow identifier; and discarding the QoS configurationcomprises: determining that an existing QoS flow description isassociated with the QoS identifier and that the QoS identifier isassociated with a bearer context different from the bearer contextassociated with the QoS information received in the modify bearercontext request message, activate default bearer context requestmessage, or activate dedicated bearer context request message;discarding the received QoS information; and generating an error messageindicating that the received QoS information was discarded.